The club sandwich’s origins trace back to the late 1800s, though who actually invented it is genuinely up for debate — a familiar pattern for a lot of classic American sandwiches with more than one competing origin story.
It’s also a real menu item at Mabel’s Deli inside Poncha Market, listed simply as The Club. Here’s the history behind the name, and what actually defines a proper club sandwich.
Unlike some sandwiches whose history is essentially undocumented, the club has an unusually specific paper trail, including one of the earliest published sandwich recipes on record.
That documentation is genuinely useful for food historians, since it means the club sandwich’s evolution — from a simple four-ingredient snack to today’s triple-decker version — can actually be traced across more than a century of published cookbooks rather than relying entirely on oral tradition and disputed anecdotes.
The Most Common Origin Story
The most widely cited explanation places the sandwich’s origin at Richard Canfield’s Saratoga Clubhouse in upstate New York around 1894, though other clubhouses from the same era also claimed credit. One popular version of the story describes a man arriving home late at night after his household had gone to bed, hungry enough to raid the pantry and ice chest for whatever he could find — and the resulting sandwich became known as “club” through its adoption by a private club his friends belonged to.
This kind of origin story — an accidental late-night creation later adopted and named by a social club — recurs often enough in American food history that it’s worth taking with a grain of salt as a genuine account rather than folklore, even though it remains the most commonly repeated version.
The Earliest Published Recipe
The earliest published club sandwich recipe commonly cited by food historians appears in the 1903 Good Housekeeping Everyday Cook Book. That original recipe calls for just five components: toast, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and chicken or turkey — noticeably simpler than the version most people know today, and without bacon at all.
How the Modern Club Sandwich Evolved
The modern club typically consists of three slices of toasted bread layered with crisp lettuce, sliced turkey or chicken, crispy bacon, and tomato, usually skewered with toothpicks and cut into quarters for easy eating. Bacon’s addition somewhere along the way, along with the now-standard third slice of bread, are the two biggest departures from that 1903 original.
Why Three Slices of Bread?
The double-decker structure isn’t just for looks — it lets a club sandwich carry two distinct filling layers (typically bacon-lettuce-tomato on one level and turkey or chicken on the other) without either layer becoming too thick to bite through cleanly. That structural logic is part of why the three-slice format has stuck around for well over a century rather than simplifying back down to a standard two-slice sandwich.
How It Compares to The Club at Mabel’s Deli
Mabel’s Deli‘s Club follows this same well-established formula — a genuinely traditional sandwich rather than a house reinvention, which is part of what makes it a reliable order for anyone who already knows what they like about a classic club.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who invented the club sandwich?
It’s genuinely disputed, with the most common story crediting Richard Canfield’s Saratoga Clubhouse around 1894, though other clubhouses from the same era made similar claims.
What was in the original club sandwich recipe?
The earliest published version, from 1903, called for just toast, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and chicken or turkey — no bacon.
Why does a club sandwich have three slices of bread?
It allows two distinct filling layers without either becoming too thick to bite through, a structural choice that’s persisted for over a century.
What meat is traditionally used in a club sandwich?
Turkey or chicken, sometimes both, alongside bacon, lettuce, and tomato in the modern version.
Where can I get a Club sandwich near Poncha Springs?
Mabel’s Deli inside Poncha Market serves The Club.
Is the club sandwich origin story true?
It’s the most commonly repeated version, but like many American food origin stories, it should be treated as popular tradition rather than confirmed historical fact.
How is a club sandwich traditionally served?
Cut into quarters and held together with toothpicks, making it easier to eat given its taller, layered structure.
Craving a classic? See our Mabel’s Deli menu guide for The Club and other signature sandwiches.
For more sandwich history, see What’s Cooking America.
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